John Paul Scott (geneticist)
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John Paul Scott (December 17, 1909—March 26, 2000) was an American behavior geneticist and comparative psychologist known for his research into the development of social behavior (especially aggression), which he pursued through studies in animal models including the dog. Scott & his collaborator John L. Fuller are memorialised in the Fuller-Scott prize, offered annually by the Behavior Genetics Association.
Education and Career
He received a B.Sc. zoology from the University of Wyoming, studying under his father, John W. Scott. After taking out a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University under E. B. Ford, he completed a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Chicago, where he studied under renowned scholar of genetics and evolution, Sewall Wright.
Scott's first academic position was at Wabash College, where he chaired the department of Zoology from 1935 to 1945. As his sociobiological research developed, he moved to the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. Here he chaired the division of behavior studies, continuing to develop his comparative approach, combining animal behavior in the service of understanding and ameliorating human problems. Moving to Bowling Green State University, he took up a Regents Professorship in Psychology, and founded the Center for the Study of Social Behavior.
His research was wide-ranging, creative, and characterised by the diversity of species he used to gain insights into social behavior: from inbred house mice, to studying leadership and dominance in goats, and social behavior and organization in sheep.
